Accidents Aren't So Bad
by bloodypeachpudding
Summary: Ren's away in America, Kyoko's in an accident and in a coma. Both Sho and Ren have confessed. Who will Kyoko pick? Chapter 4 reuploaded, due to author being blur and missing out replace chapter function. Epilogue added.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!**

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"Tsuruga-san! There you are!" cried the girl, spotting Ren and Yashiro in the distance.

Fortunately, few people were at the airport and even fewer people heard her, or all hell might have broken loose. Fangirls would have swarmed all around Ren and he would have been swallowed up in a sea of raving females.

Ren had dyed his hair again and it was back to its original blond colour. For some particularly strange reason, Ren looked somewhat…familiar to Kyoko, although she couldn't really put her finger on it.

Upon hearing her cheery voice, Ren turned around with a smile and raised his hand in a wave.

"Yashiro, could you leave for a while. There is something that I would like to tell Kyoko before I leave for America." Ren asked calmly, but the nervous expression in his eyes gave him away.

"Alright, Ren," replied Yashiro with a demonic grin plastered on his face, nodding knowingly, waggling his eyebrows so hard that Ren thought they would shoot off. "About time…" muttered Yashiro under his breath.

"What did you say, Yashiro?" hissed Ren menacingly, his face twitching closer to the Emperor of the Night expression as Kyoko came closer, which quickly vanished as Kyoko, seeing the expression, stalled for a moment, afraid. Her demons began drawing closer to him as if he was a magnet. _"Feel that aura! That wonderful negative energy!" _her demons whispered, floating around an oblivious Ren.

"Nothing," mumbled Yashiro, leaving as quickly as he could before Ren could flash him that "gentlemanly smile". Ren had already gone back to being nervous, though.

"Tsuruga-san! Where's Yashiro going?" questioned Kyoko as she caught up to Ren, panting, and throwing a fearful glance at him before relaxing as the Emperor of the Night aura disappeared.

"Yashiro? He went to go get a coffee," answered Ren, using the first excuse that came to mind. "Why are you breathing so hard?"

"Heh…I overslept again and I got here on my bike as fast as I could. I'm so glad I made it in time. I thought that I would be late and I wouldn't be able to see you for another month!" Suddenly, her cheerful expression disappeared. "Hey Tsuruga-san, I think Yashiro's going the wrong way. Isn't the café over there?" She pointed to the café on the left.

"I guess he wanted to go to the restroom first. Mogami-san, I have something to tell you…" his voice trailed off as Kyoko cut him off

"Oh. I guess so…never mind, then! Anyway, Tsuruga-san, I came here to remind you to eat properly. If you don't eat properly, then you'll fall sick. And if you fall sick, then your parents will worry. Here's some medicine for you in case you _do _fall sick." So saying, Kyoko proceeded to dump an enormous packet of medicine into his arms. "Also, don't forget to say "hi" to dad for me if you see him. You said that you would be paying him a visit. I bought some food for you to eat. It's very nutritious and good for your health!" From her bag, she took out packet after packet of biscuits and snacks, piling them into Ren's arms.

"Kyoko, you know that I probably won't be able to eat all this, right?" asked Ren, drops of sweat forming on the side of his head.

"That isn't for you, Tsuruga-senpai. That's for dad!" She rummaged around in her bag some more and brandished a few packets of wheat biscuits. "This is for you!" she added the biscuits to the huge mountain of snacks.

_How the hell did she manage to fit all that in her bag?!_ "And there's one more thing…" she continued. "I made you a bento! The box is recyclable too! Remember to recycle it! I did research on the internet and it appears that America has recycling bins too!" smiling proudly at herself, she tiptoed and stretched her hand out, leaving the bento balanced precariously at the summit of the Everest of food.

"Uhh…Thank you very much, Kyoko. I'm sure Kuu will appreciate your…gifts too." Kyoko beamed happily.

"I'm glad you like it, Tsuruga-san. Next time, I'll get more wheat biscuits for you! Initially I bought a lot more for you, but after buying them, I went to Moko's house…" her pleasant demeanor disappeared again and she retreated into the gloom at the memory, sinking 100km deep into her sea of despair.

"It's really alright, Kyoko, I don't mind at all."

"Really?! Yay! Tsuruga-senpai isn't angry with me!" her face lit up at once like a beacon. "And at least he the Emperor of the Night didn't appear…" she added under her breath.

"Anyway, Mogami-san there is something that I have to tell you." Ren was starting to get even more nervous. How was Kyoko going to react? He didn't want her to be too scared of him to ever face him again. "For starters, Mogami-san, can I call you Kyoko?" Kyoko nodded unsurely.

_What exactly did Tsuruga-senpai want? _She was getting an uneasy feeling that what he wanted to tell her was not going to be good. Was he going to tell her that he was not coming back to Japan? If he didn't come back...

"Kyoko, is anything wrong?"

"Huh, what?" she was snapped back into reality by Ren's voice.

"You were zoning out, Kyoko. Is anything wrong?" She shook her head. "No, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking, Tsuru-"

"Ren. Since I get to call you Kyoko, it's only fair that you get to call me Ren. So just call me Ren." He smiled gently at her.

"Uhm okay…Ren. Sounds weird, calling you Ren, but continue what you were saying."

"Kyoko, I need to tell you something. I have to tell you this. Kyoko promise me that after I tell you this, you will not hate or fear me. "

Kyoko felt her body tense up and her eyes widen._ Besides his Emperor of the Night side, what else could possibly make her hate or fear Ren?_

"Kyoko this sounds silly, but…"

_Silly? Could it be a…could it possibly be a…a…_

_SCRIPT PROBLEM?! _

"Kyoko…I love you." Her expression went blank. All the memories between her and Ren flashed through her mind at lightspeed. She gasped lightly.

And the walls that she had so carefully built around her heart crumbled into dust.

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Please review honestly and give as much feedback as possible! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!**

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"_The walls! The walls!" cried her inner demons. "The walls have fallen!" They flew around Kyoko, cheering alongside her inner angel. Even the demons were on Ren's side, hoping that Kyoko would stay forever by their favourite wellspring of negative energy._

"_Kyoko…I love you." _She did not hate Ren, nor did she fear him after hearing those words. Her feelings were in turmoil. She was too confused and shocked to hate or fear someone.

"Kyoko! Are you alright?" She was staring into space again. Ren had to shake her to bring her back.

"I'm fine, Ren." _She was still talking to him. That was a good sign_. Brushing his hands away, she took one small step back. He reached out to touch her arm but she sidestepped it. _She was avoiding physical contact with him. Bad sign. _Ren stepped back as the visions he feared flashed across his eyes.

"Are you sure? You face is deathly pale. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Ren." She made a feeble attempt at a smile. "Relax. I don't hate you or anything…I'm just…confused and scared. I'm not scared of you. I'm just scared. What if the same thing that happened with Shotaro happened again? Not that you're like Shotaro or anything…" _She didn't hate him. Good sign._ "I'm sorry, Ren. I…I don't know what to say or do. I can't think properly…I'm so confused…" She sunk to the ground, hands cupped over her ears. "I need some time alone, Ren. I need to think."

"Don't worry, Kyoko." He knelt down beside her, his hand resting on her head. "I understand. You…need…time…" He didn't know if he should be sad or relieved that Kyoko refused to meet his eyes. Although he managed to hide the sadness in his voice, it was pretty evident in his eyes. He fought the urge to pull her into a hug and comfort her, but common sense won over the urge.

Kyoko suddenly got up. "I'm sorry, Ren, I got to go. It's a…LoveMe job…yeah, a LoveMe job," she mumbled as she hurried away. In a flurry, the pink and brown bullet was out of his sight.

He watched her as she walked away. _That definitely didn't go so well, but at least she doesn't hate me, or plan to ignore me forever. _He sighed in resignation as Kyoko shakily exited the airport and Yashiro returned from wherever he had gone. Judging by the expression on Ren's face and the way Kyoko had left, things had obviously not gone well and Yashiro knew better than to ask.

Kyoko walked aimlessly on the sidewalks of Tokyo, getting jostled by a passer-by every now and then. She was mulling over what Ren had said. _The_ Ren Tsuruga had just confessed to her and she should have been feeling excited and happy but her feelings were quite different from that. She was confused and scared. This was all because of Shotaro. Maybe if he hadn't done what he had to her, she would have accepted Ren's feelings and wouldn't be feeling so confused. If not for Shotaro, she would probably have started a new relationship long ago. But if not for Shotaro, she would never have become an actress and she would never have met Ren or Moko. If not for Shotaro, she would not have been able to continue high school or do any of the other things that she was doing now. All because of freaking Shotaro! That jerk ruined my life!

She arrived at a pedestrian crossing and stopped. It was the green light for cars. While she waited, she started thinking again, about how Shotaro had ruined her life and how it would have been a thousand times better if not for him. Soon, she was surrounded by her killing aura again. Her demons raged at the lost chance of hooking Tsuruga Ren the Emperor of the Night. Fellow pedestrians started to edge away from her and they ran across the road as soon as the flow of cars stopped and it was safe to cross. _Stupid Shotaro. Stupid idiotic Shotaro. Why did his career have to be so successful? If only he was slightly lower, then she could definitely reach him and crush him! "THAT'S RIGHT! CRUSH SHOTARO! CRUSH SHOTARO!"_

A familiarly hateful voice brought her mind back to her body and to reality.

"Hey, why are you zoning out like that? It's a pedestrian crossing, you know." He shivered slightly as he came in range of her killing aura. Fangirls would have surrounded him, rendering him unable to move as wave after wave of their kind surrounded him, but Kyoko's killing aura prevented them from doing so.

"Who asked for your opinion?!" she demanded impertinently as she spotted the owner of the voice, the all famous singer, Sho.

"Well, then don't block up the sidewalk!"

"I'm not blocking up the sidewalk!" the killing aura immediately disappeared and was replaced by an irritated aura. "Why are you wandering around the streets of Tokyo without Shoko-san anyway? It's dangerous for you! I wouldn't want you to be crushed by fan girls before I defeat you! So return to your stupid car and leave me alone!" She brushed Sho aside and walked briskly in the opposite direction. Until then, she had not realized that she was walking in the wrong direction and was walking away from LME's main building.

"Leave you _alone_? No way. I saw you from the car and who knows? Without someone with you, you just might get run down by a car!"

"Don't curse me, you stupid idiot!" She crossed the street and left Sho standing on the sidewalk._ Hah. That got rid of that idiot. _At once, she heard a car's horn and jumped out of the way just in time to prevent herself from being run over.

"What did I tell you?" Sho smirked as Kyoko sent him a death glare.

"Shut up!" her killing aura returned instantly. Sho tried his best to ignore it to no avail. He took five steps back so that he would be out of the killing aura's range. His blond hair seemed to pale considerably as well.

"It's not like I actually want to be here. Shoko-san sent me here to offer you a lift to LME. She wants to talk to you about your career too." He leaned against a nearby lamppost as he spoke, trying to look as cool as possible, even on the street. Kyoko noticed this and this just made her mood worse because it reminded her of how many girls in Japan were crazy about him because of how "cool" he looked and it reminded her of how far she had to go before she could _crush_ him. At that thought, the power of Kyoko's killing aura doubled and Sho's frightened and cowardly demeanor replaced his cool demeanor.

"What makes you think that I want a lift from _you_?" Furious, Kyoko grabbed a bunch of her demons and flung them at him. They sped at the speed of light, laughing madly, and slammed full force into his face. Sho winced and rubbed his smarting cheek. "I can always walk to LME myself."

"Kyoko, we're near the airport, you know. That's pretty far from LME's main building. Aren't you scared of being late? Maybe even being fired." Sho's smirk returned. Upon hearing that, Kyoko looked at her watch. She had half an hour to get to LME and in her confusion, she had left her bicycle at the airport!

_Five minutes later…_

"Hello, Kyoko-chan! Why are you here?" Shoko looked confused as Sho arrived, hauling Kyoko behind him.

"You said you wanted to give me a lift to LME…"

"Oh right, right…" Shoko turned her death glare on Sho. "You owe me one, Sho," she said in an undertone, so that only Sho could hear.

"Right, just play along, all right? Could you excuse yourself for a moment?" whispered Sho.

"Hey guys, you do know that to of you look pretty conspicuous, right? So it's pretty obvious that the two of you are planning something…"

"I was just telling Sho that I needed to go shop for groceries so Sho will drive. Bye, got to go!" Shoko dashed out of the car, leaving Kyoko looking dazed.

"Huh? But I thought Shoko wanted to ask me something…" She turned to Sho. "You must have made it all up! Ah you idiot!" Before she could get out of the car, Sho started to drive. "You're going the wrong way, Sho_**taro**_, you idiot! LME is in the other direction!"

"I know."

"Since you know, then turn around! Turn around! Turn around! I'll be late for work if you don't turn around!"

"Relax Kyoko, I just want to bring you to a place. I guarantee that you'll reach LME in time." Kyoko didn't hear a thing. She was looking out of the window nearest to the passenger seat. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Stop the car Sho, if there is something that you need to tell me, then tell me right here, right now."

"Fine, whatever. This isn't exactly what I had in mind for what I was going to tell you. It's a little…unromantic." He pulled over.

_Unromantic? Unromantic?! _The demons inside her screamed as the walls around her heart sprang up, twice as thick as before.

"Kyoko, I know that what I did to you is probably unforgivable."

"You're damn right it is, you bastard. You ruined my life. But I guess I have you to thank. If not for you, I would never have started my career as an actress and I would never have met Tsuruga-sepai or Moko-san or Maria-chan or…" Sho's hand covered her mouth, preventing her from saying anymore. She struggled hard, slapping his hand.

"I get it. Just let me finish this." She shrugged her shoulders and stopped struggling. _If Sho was going to confess to her, she could always turn him down and then she would get to see him __**crushed**__! Her angels began singing in accord "A~lleluia! A~lleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!" with full orchestral accompaniment by the demons._

"_That's the spirit," _shouted her inner demons along with the angels. All of them were so definitely against Sho. The angels all chorused in vulgarities and overshadowed the demons.

Trying to overcome his fear of the murderous aura that had filled the car, Sho stammered "K-kyoko, it took me an extremely long time just to figure this out but…"

Kyoko looked around the car, as if she was bored. She stared past Sho, looking out the windshield and her eyes widened in fear. She started struggling again.

"Kyoko, I thought I told you to let me finish…" Kyoko used her free hand to shove Sho's head in the other direction. His voice trailed off. He had seen what she had seen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!**

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A bright red car came on them. _40 metres to before impact._

Sho's hand slid from her mouth as he gaped at the red bolt hurtling towards them. He wasn't doing anything but staring. Could he be anymore useless than that?

She pushed him away from the driver's seat and took his place. She tried to get the car started but stupid Shotaro had taken the key out of the ignition.

_35 metres to impact._

"Open the door and get out of the car, Sho! If you don't get out, I can't get out and we're both going to die! The lock is jammed on this side!" Those words woke Sho up. _I'm too young to die! Too handsome and too young!_ Kyoko yelled at him, slapping his face.

_30 metres to impact._

He fumbled with the lock and scrambled out of the car, heedless to the girl trying to scramble out behind him. Kyoko tried to follow but her blouse got caught on something.

_25 metres to impact. _

"Sho, help me! I'm stuck! I can't get out!" Sho continued to dash for safety. _I swear I will get extra revenge on you for this! This just shows how little you love me! Selfish brat, Ren would have got me out first then run!_ Kyoko thought furiously. She stalled for awhile, realizing that she had just thought about Ren, then snapped back to the situation in a split second. _**"SHOTARO YOU IMBECILE HELP ME, DAMN YOU, I'M STUCK!" **_Finally, Sho spun around and ran back. He reached his hand out to pull her out.

_15 metres to impact._

"Sho, I can't move my leg either! It's caught in the seat belt!" Sho uselessly tried to free her.

_10 metres to impact._

She started to panic. He started to panic. They both broke out in cold sweat.

_8 metres to impact._

"Kyoko! Stop moving! I'm trying to get your blouse loose! It's almost loose!" Sho fumbled desperately with the seat belt.

_5 metres to impact._

"It's done! You're free!" Sho, being the idiot that he was, forgot about her leg that was stuck and spun around to run again.

_4 metres to impact. _

"Sho! My leg's still stuck!" Sho completed the turn, making a 360 degree turn and yanked her leg out of the seat belt.

_3 metres to impact._

"Yes! It's out!" Sho yelled. He grasped her hand to pull her out of the car.

_2 metres to impact._

Sho pulled hard. And Kyoko slipped out of his sweaty-palmed grasp, as he landed on the sidewalk.

_1 meter before impact. _

"KYOKO!"

"SHO!"

_Impact._

_Kyoko was falling, falling, falling…_

_Through a dark tunnel filled with sparkly lights…_

The world had exploded into thousands of millions of sparkly colors. Kyoko reached out to touch one but she felt nothing.

"So pretty…Those colors are so sparkly…so pretty…Am I in Fairyland? Must…find…Corn…his wings…should be…fully grown…" Kyoko whispered. She heard a voice, a rough, unfamiliar voice.

"Victim is conscious, but delusional!"

She heard the siren of an ambulance.

She blurrily saw Sho's worried face.

"Kyoko! I'm so sorry! Don't die on me…Please…Don't die." Tears were streaming down his face and his voice was cracking. _Why was there blood on Sho's face?_ He covered his face in his hands. They were bloody too…_Sho seemed fine…Why was there so much blood…? So much blood…_

"Don't…curse…me…" she hissed.

Then she lost sight of everything, and fell through the sparkly tunnel faster and faster, until the colours began to fade…and fade…

Then the sparkly colors disappeared altogether and everything went black as she lost consciousness.

"Kyoko! Kyoko, please don't die…Please, Kyoko…" Sho was pleading. It was the first time that any of the paramedics in the ambulance had seen Japan's newest and currently, top singer, so desperate.

Regretfully, Kyoko had lost consciousness before she could see and hear Sho reduced to this state.


	4. Chapter 4

_The day after the accident…_

**U.S.**

"Ahh…we're finally here! That flight was so long and boring," complained Yashiro.

"My thoughts exactly," agreed the actor as he stretched his long legs. "That was definitely a tiring one too." In truth, he had been thinking about Kyoko's reaction to his confession all the way and that had been so depressing that he had become tired.

"Kuon! My Kuon!" All heads turned in the direction on the shout. A lady, at least a head shorter than Ren rushed towards them

"You're finally back with us! Who's that you've got there?" She pointed at Yashiro.

"That's my manager. He insisted on coming along, even though I told him that it was not necessary. Where's dad?" He looked around, trying to spot the famous actor, Kuu Hizuri.

"Well, you know how it is…He can't exactly go out in public, you know. Unlike you, he's famous here as well. He's waiting for us in the car."

When they reached the car, Yashiro's jaw dropped. Even Ren looked shocked. Waiting for them was a long white limousine and a long trail of black cars, containing Kuu's bodyguards. Every single one had lined up and bowed graciously to their employer's beloved son.

"Honestly, couldn't dad have picked something a little less conspicuous?" He sighed as he opened the door to the limousine and got in.

"Welcome home, son!" shouted his father happily, as he burst a party popper.

"Hi dad…" he looked at his parents' smiling faces. "It's good to be home again, I guess…" _That's just to make them happy. I know they wanted me to say that._ He himself could not help but smile as he brushed confetti off his head. That reminded him of Kyoko…pain shot through him. _No! Thinking about her would just ruin the whole trip! He should just forget about her. It was too painful to think about her. _

Tokyo:

"We have saved her from death but she is currently in a coma, a state of unconsciousness…" the doctor had been searching all over for Sho.

"I damn well know what a coma is!" sobbed Sho. Kyoko had been brought into the emergency room and had had a long operation. Shoko had just arrived, along with Kyoko's best friend, Kotonami Kanae.

"Sho…" Shoko's hand rested on his shoulder, as the doctor spoke to Kanae. Sho obviously was in no state to hear about the chances of Kyoko regaining consciousness and et cetera.

"This is all my fault…All my fault…If only I had done something…Pulled her out sooner, listened to her, picked a different day to say it…Done anything to prevent this from happening."

"Sho, this wasn't your fault. There was nothing that you could have done about it…" Shoko was cut off by Sho.

"Don't try and console me, Shoko. I _know_ that I could have done something. If there's any god or gods out there, they all probably hate me! The moment that I'm about to tell her how I feel for her, something like this happens. And I only just figure out that I like her _after_ I throw her aside like last ­_century's_ trash."

_What a self-centered idiot. He thinks the gods hate him? He should take a look at Kyoko's life and what __**he **__turned it into,_ thought Kanae, her own rarely seen demons beginning to emerge.

"Well, as much as I hate you, Sho, and as much as I would like to contradict everything that you say, just to make your life miserable, I have to agree with you on this. This _is_ your fault. And at least you aren't running away from it." Kanae interrupted him icily with a look colder than the North pole. She had finished talking with the doctor and learning about Kyoko's situation.

Sho glared daggers at her as he heard what she said. "And just who might you be? You obviously don't know what she means to me." He met Kanae's glare warily.

"Uhh…yeah. Obviously you wouldn't know me, because I wouldn't I wouldn't associate myself with a scumbag like you. I may not know what she means to you, but I do know what you mean to her. You're nothing but an ordinary male in her eyes, Sho. In fact, you mean even less than that to her. Yes, girls all over Japan might swoon over you, but she is one that doesn't," Kanae replied coolly, totally ignoring his death glare, smiling slightly as she saw depression take over Sho.

"What do you know?!" shouted Sho.

"In terms of Kyoko? More than you. Face it, Sho. This is your fault and there's nothing you can do about it. Ciao, I'm going to see Kyoko." She fluttered her fingers and shouldered her duffel bag, smiling slightly as she saw the state that Sho was in. Serves him right! She gave him her most brilliant and amiable smile, and strode into Kyoko's ward.

As she saw her bubbly and active friend reduced to a comatose state, she dropped her facade. She flung her duffel bag onto a chair and pulled another up near to the bed.

Her friend's condition was thankfully, stable, and nothing had gone wrong during the operation. Still, her brow was furrowed with worry. What if Kyoko never woke up? Even if she woke up, what if she lost her memory?

_Honestly, Kanae, you worry too much. Didn't the doctor say that she would be fine?_ Her inner voice whispered.

"Kyoko, wake up. Snap out of it. If you don't wake up soon, then we wouldn't be friends. Wake up, Kyoko…" She smiled bitterly as she shed a tear. Her first real tear in years.

_I dreamt of sparkly colorful lights all around. I dreamt that I had gone to Fairyland. But when I reached out to touch a sparkly blue light, all the colors disappeared and I saw Sho in a bloody mess beside me. He was telling me not to die. I wanted to tell him that nobody was dying, unless he wanted to, because he was cursing me, and that cursing me wouldn't work without a wax candle person. But I couldn't speak. Before I could utter a word, the world went dark and I couldn't see anything. _

_I didn't hear, see, or feel anything for a while. Then I heard Moko and Shos' voices. They were fighting. Moko was telling Sho off, (good for her) and Sho was talking about me as if he was my boyfriend or something. As if I would ever accept him! Not on his nelly! But it was so very soft that I almost didn't hear it. I could only hear snippets of their argument. Then there was silence for a while. Moko said something about coming to visit me. It was clearer this time, for some strange reason. _

_After that, I heard her asking me to wake up. She sounded so sad. I wanted to wake up and tell her that it was okay and that I was awake. But somehow, I couldn't. I tried very hard, but I couldn't. It made me feel sad too. She said that we wouldn't be friends anymore, but I knew she was only joking. Even though she was joking, I still knew that she was sad. _

_Then I felt something hot and wet fall on my hand. It was a very small thing, but the feeling from it spread. The hot and wet thing felt like it was filled with sadness. Was Moko crying? _


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!**

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_Seven days after the accident…_

**Tokyo**

Kyoko still hadn't woken up. One week had passed and she still had not woken up. Moko had managed to keep Sho out of the ward. Who knew what that messed up singer might do? Confess to Kyoko? Fat chance! He had sixteen years to do that and he never made a move. Now it was Ren's turn. Where _was_ Ren? One would have thought that as soon as he heard the news, he would have rushed over here, pushed Sho aside and forced Kyoko to wake up.

The spoilt pop star was still moping around in the corridor. Didn't that guy have a song to record of a PV to film? Anything at all to do? She would not be able to keep Sho out of Kyoko's ward for long. She would have to go to work soon. That guy's job was so slack.

Maybe she should try speaking to Kyoko again. Maybe that would wake her up. Her efforts had been futile for the past 5 days, but she might have a little bit of luck today.

"Kyoko…Wake up. Maria-chan is on her way to see you. What do you think she would do if she saw you like this? And Takarada-san and Sawara-san both want you to get well soon. Takarada-san couldn't come because he had to go to Hawaii to sign some contract and Sawara-san is drowning in work because the whole LoveMe section is gone…If I go back to work, then that spoilt pop star out there will barge in and do who knows what to you." _No response at all. Wasn't it working?_ "Kyoko, please wake up."

At that moment, the door flew open and the red and yellow blur – Maria – barged in.

"Onee-san! Wake up! Or I'll use some black magic to wake you up!" cried Maria, throwing herself onto her Onee-san's bed, giving her a hug while trying her best to avoid the wires and tubes. "Wake up, Onee-san! LME is so boring without you! It's almost my birthday too! Don't make me waste my birthday wish on you! I know you'd hate to see a wish wasted, so wake up!" For a moment there, Kanae thought that Maria's method of screaming into Kyoko's ear might actually work. Maria thought so too. They both half-expected to see Kyoko wake up and hug Maria back. But Kyoko made not a single movement.

"Onee-san! Don't be like that! Wake up already. If you don't go to work within one more week, Grandfather will fire you and you won't have a job anymore! Wake up!" By then, Maria was literally hollering in Kyoko's ear and was coming close to grabbing Kyoko by the shoulders and shaking her awake.

Kanae was a little bit calmer and gently pried the sobbing Maria away from Kyoko's motionless body. "That's enough, Maria. She'll wake up before your birthday, I guarantee." _This is going to take some desperate measures. We're just going to have to bring the Prince Charming in._

She took out her cell phone and flipped it open, an evil glint in her eye. She had no time to be sad for her friend with this amount of fun.

Apparently, she had the same goal as Yashiro.

Get Kyoko and Ren together. ASAP.

"Hello, Yashiro-san? This is Kotonami-san."

**U.S.**

Kyoko still had not contacted him. _Wait. I'm not supposed to be thinking about her during this trip after I pass her gifts to father. The poor girl is probably still confused. She wouldn't want to speak to me yet, I guess. She still needs time. _

"Kuon! It's lunchtime!" A voice shattered his thoughts. _I'm not hungry, mother. I'd love to say that, but dad would probably force feed me._

"Coming!" he called, picking up a random paperback book to read during lunch.

He clambered out of bed and down the staircase. _Staircases are so inconvenient, especially when you're trying to read and walk at the same time. _

When he got down the staircase, Yashiro's phone rang.

"K-Kotonami-san? What can I do for you?"

"_You can get Tsuruga Ren and his butt over here, so Kyoko will wake up."_

"Wake…Kyoko…up? Can't you just use an alarm clock? Why do you need Ren to go all the way back to Japan?"

"_Haha, alarm clock, very funny, Yashiro-san. Why does Tsuruga-san have to go _back_ to Japan anyway? Isn't he in Japan?"_

"What's so funny about that? That's what normal people do to wake other people up! And he's in America visiting his parents, so this had better be important. His parents would be heartbroken to have to send him back so soon."

"_Oh."_

"Oh what?"

"_Oh. You haven't heard the news."_

"What news?"

"_You see, there was this car accident in Tokyo, involving Fuwa Sho…"_

"That concerns Ren because…?"

"_Kyoko was in the car with him."_

"Uh huh…That concerns Ren because…WHAT?! Kyoko was in the WHAT?!!" It was a good thing that he had gone into the backyard to answer his phone, or Ren would have heard.

"_You weren't really listening, were you? As I was saying, Kyoko was in the car with him. Sho got out in time, but Kyoko didn't. She's currently in a coma. She's been in one for a week already. So…"_

"So you want Ren to go over there and get her to wake up, right, Kotonami-san?"

"_Exactly. So if you don't mind, I've got to go pry a crying Maria off Kyoko again, and keep and irritating pest of a pop star out of Kyoko's room. Goodbye!" _She hung up.

Yashiro could barely believe his own ears. Kyoko…in a car accident…With Fuwa Sho?

He returned to the dining room.

"Hello, Kuu, Hello Julie." They nodded their greetings, their eyes fixed on Ren.

"Hey Ren, you'll never guess what I just heard…" his voice trailed off.

Ren was reading one of those Japanese gossip magazines and guess what was on the front page.

He killed the chair he was sitting on by accident.

**Tokyo**

_I heard Moko asking me to wake up again. She still sounded sad. I wanted to wake up but I still couldn't. She had been asking me to wake up for a long time already. I don't know how long. She had done a good job keeping Sho away from me. Once, I even heard him pleading Moko to let him in. She almost faltered, but she held her ground. That surprised me. I wonder why Shotaro wants to see me so desperately. _

_She was still asking me to wake up when I heard another voice. It was Maria. She was asking me to wake up too. She even threatened to use black magic or her birthday wish to wake me up. Don't waste your wish on your nee-san, you silly girl. I'm awake already, why doesn't anyone understand that? She said that her birthday was coming soon. The last I checked, it was the eighth of December. I wonder what day it is now. _

_Maria gave me a hug. It was a nice warm hug. I had rarely been hugged before. It made me feel happy to know that Maria cared about her nee-san. But even though I felt happy, I still felt sad. Because I knew that I was making everyone worried about me and sad too. I know I'm making everyone feel that way, but I don't know why. If only someone would tell me why. Then I would be able to do the opposite and make them all fell happy again. All everyone does is to ask me to wake up. Isn't it clear that I'm awake? If I wasn't awake, I would not be able to hear what they are saying at all. _

_Although I can hear them, why can't I see them? Could this just be a dream? A very confusing dream, perhaps. I don't understand this. I think that I'm awake and everyone else thinks otherwise. So am I awake or asleep?_

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!**

* * *

_Eight days after the accident…_

U.S.:

"Goodbye, Kuon! Get her before that Sho guy does!" Ren's parents waved cheerfully, as they saw their only son off. His parents were in baseball caps and had cheerleaders to attend Ren's departure.

"And if he gets to her first, just steal her back, okay, Kuon?" added Kuu.

"Don't encourage him!" scolded Julie as Ren boarded the plane later on, slapping her husband lightly on the arm. "You're a bad example for our son!"

"Right…And who's the one who subscribes to those ridiculous Japanese gossip magazines? They even send copies to you in advance just so you can get it on the same day as everyone else!" answered Kuu jokingly. "Those magazines are a bad influence, you know. All that gossip and all…"

"As if you set a good example, you food-sucking blackhole!" Julie playfully whacked Kuu with one of her magazines. "Anyway, if not for these magazines, your son would never have gone off to rescue his beloved!"

"I guess so…I just hope he manages to get her before that Sho guy does. I've met her before. She's a very likeable girl, very suitable for our Kuon! After you meet her, you'll agree with me too!" He added happily.

Tokyo:

_Oh dear…_thought Moko as she cast a glance at the clock. It was almost time for her to go to work. It was not the thought of being late that bothered her, for the studio was just around the corner, but the thought of Sho managing to gain access to Kyoko's ward in her absence. Then, her much needed savior arrived, or so she thought…

Maria burst into the room, dragging a cart of goodness knows what behind her. Moko was unsure of whether the little girl would be able to hold Sho off, but the girl was the granddaughter of the president of LME. Surely, she would be able to do something about Sho.

"Maria-chan! Am I glad to see you! Listen, Maria, I got to go now, so could you keep that brat of a pop star out of Kyoko's room?"

"Of course! If he tried to get in, I'll use my voodoo dolls on him," she said, drawing a few out of her bag to prove it.

"Right…Oh, by the way, Maria-chan, what's in those boxes?" she motioned to the boxes in the cart.

"It's kinda like a secret, but I guess I can trust you." Maria waved Kanae down, so that she could whisper in her ear. "Inside those boxes, are my tools. It's all part of the black magic ceremony that I'm holding to wake onee-san up!" She opened up one box. "Here are the candles that I'm going to put around. They're electric ones, because there are smoke detectors in here and Grandfather wouldn't let me buy real ones." She unpacked another box and held up a bag of colored sand. "In here, is the sand that I'm going to use for the ceremony! I need to form a pentacle in a pentacle in a pentacle with the colored sand. Each line I form must be a different color from the others!"

Kanae felt like smacking her head against something. _Why did I even ask…_

Maria was about to open another box and reveal its contents to Kanae when Kanae suddenly cut in. "Okay then, gotta go!" Kanae rushed out of the room as quickly as she could.

"Alright, then! Let's get started!" Maria started on the pentacle, carefully forming it. As she did so, Sho peeked in through the window. _What the hell is that kid doing?_ Maria looked up and saw Sho before he could duck. Sho's face disappeared for a few seconds before reappearing again. The girl had disappeared. He was about to get up from his seat to sneak into the room when Maria's face appeared in front of his. Only the glass separated their faces. Maria held up a voodoo doll and pointed at it before sticking her tongue out at him. Sho clearly understood what she meant. _Okay, that kid is _seriously_ screwed up._

Suddenly, he saw little elves dancing about the hospital floor. Sho thought he was dreaming. Next came a sleigh pulled by reindeer, a sack of presents piled in the back. A tall, thin man stepped out of the sleigh. He was the furthest thing from Santa, but he was dressed the part anyway. The little girl in Kyoko's room poked her heard out of the door.

"Grandfather!" she yelled, abandoning her duty of keeping Sho out of Kyoko's room to hug the man. _I should have known those two were related. _

Sho spotted the chance to get into Kyoko's room. He slipped into Kyoko's room as the little girl and the weird man were engaged in a very animated conversation over black magic and Christmas.

Stepping over Maria's unfinished pentacle in a pentacle in a pentacle, Sho immediately made his way to Kyoko's bedside through a maze of colored sand, electric candles and voodoo dolls.

"Kyoko…" he took her hand in his. "Kyoko…Will you…Forgive me?" Hot tears ran down the side of his face, dripping onto Kyoko's unmoving arm. He sank down to the ground, kneeling on the floor. "Kyoko…I'm sorry for everything that I've done to you…I made your life in Kyoto hell, and I made it even worse in Tokyo. I treated you like a…slave. I know I shouldn't have done that…Please forgive me. After you left, I realized how much you meant to me…I _love_ you, Kyoko. Please wake up, Kyoko…Wake up…for me."

_Forgive him? Like hell I will. As I said earlier on, during the auditions, if "forgive me" could make up for everything, then we wouldn't need hell! My feelings are still unchanged and I don't see why they ever should. And why is that bastard holding my hand? I hate being like this. I want to shake his hand off. I want to slap him. I want to tell him never to touch me or speak to me ever again. But I can't. I want to hug Maria and Moko. But I can't. I want to scream out loud in frustration. But I can't._

_However, thinking about what he said, those three words, "I love you", I've heard them spoken by someone else before…I wonder...Perhaps I should not be so afraid…Ren…I can trust him. He won't let me down like a certain someone did. And he truly loves me. I can see the sincerity in his eyes. Someone like Ren can be trusted. I think I…love Ren back. How I feel every time I am around him, how I feel when he truly smiles at me…It's not the same as how I felt with Shotaro…Maybe I was mistaken about my feelings for Shotaro and this…this is really what love is like…_

_I want to tell Ren that I'm sorry about the way that I acted at the airport and that I...love him too. But I can't._

_Or maybe I can, if I tried hard enough…_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!**

* * *

_Nine days after the accident…_

Ren quietly opened the door. He saw Sho leaning over Kyoko's body, holding her hand, crying. _That should be where I am._ Kyoko looked as beautiful as ever, sleeping so peacefully. He knew she was in a coma, but he preferred to think of it as her being in a very deep sleep. Just like Sleeping Beauty. Ren knew about Kyoko's particular obsession with fairytales and princesses.

"I love you, Kyoko, I love you. Wake up. For me. Please." Those words were painful. To hear Sho confessing to Kyoko. He wanted to cry out, to push that infernal Sho away from Kyoko and to take his place by her bedside. A tear escaped from Kyoko's closed eyes. Ren saw it. Sho saw it. Sho jumped up and away from the bed.

Then her eyelids fluttered open, looking straight up at the ceiling.

"I…love…you…too…" each word was like a knife being stabbed into his chest. The echoes added salt to the wounds… It was so painful to hear his beloved Kyoko saying those words to another man. One she claimed to hate. One she had long forgotten. It pained him even more when he saw the other party in the corner, looking so smug and joyful. Until he heard Kyoko's final word…

"…Ren…" As if she could sense Ren's presence, she turned to the doorway to face Ren, a smile on her beautiful face. Ren could have jumped for joy. He could have punched the air and yelled. He could have gloated about his victory over Sho, in the face of the aforementioned. He could have done so many things just to express one feeling - The joy of Kyoko loving him back. He felt like his chest would explode with glee and that out of his back would grow huge golden wings like the fairies in Kyoko's imagination and that he would be able to fly in his elation. But he did none of the above. He just stood there, smiling a real smile at Kyoko.

Yashiro found a comfortable place against the wall, amid the black magic stuff and the hospital equipment. He leaned back and shook his head at the current sight before him. The pop star, Fuwa Sho, was currently in a petrified state, shocked at the revelation that unfolded before his eyes. Tsuruga Ren, on the other hand, looked so happy that he could fly. Kyoko looked equally happy.

He thought about what would have happened if Ren had just plucked up enough courage to confess sooner. Firstly, Fuwa Sho would never have confessed to Kyoko and she would carry on without knowing that he loved her. And then, Fuwa Sho would have to live in misery all his life, without being able to confess to Kyoko and not get the gentlemanly smile from Ren on full power. When it was on full power…you only wanted to cower and hide. Secondly, Kyoko would never have ended up in hospital. She would not have had to learn that she loved Ren in such a painful way.

He casually laid his hand down on a nearby machine, clean forgetting what would happen if he came in contact with machines for too long. And it just so happened that the machine was the one that monitored Kyoko's heartbeat.

Kyoko turned back to face the ceiling.

She took in a deep breath.

And closed her eyes.

A monotonous beep filled the air.

"KYOKO!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!**

"KYOKO!" Ren rushed over to Kyoko's bedside, beating Sho to it. "Kyoko, not again, please. Don't die on me…Please…"

Kyoko drowsily opened her eyes. "Who's dying?" she said, yawning.

"Kyoko? You're alive?!" cried Sho incredulously.

"What? First you said you loved me, now you're cursing me? Honestly, Sho…I was only going to get some sleep. Is there any cause to say that I'm dead?" snapped Kyoko

"I thought I'd lost you, Kyoko…" Ren enveloped Kyoko in a hug. Her face broke into a smile.

"Don't worry, Ren. I don't die so easily."

"Then…" he stared at the machine that monitored Kyoko's heartbeat. "That machine must have a problem…" He spied a sleeved hand on the machine. He followed the hand up to the arm, meeting Yashiro's eyes.

"What is it, Ren? Can't I just rest a little bit?"

"No, it's not that…Yashiro…Your hand, could you take it off…" Ren sighed in exasperation. Yashiro hastily obeyed and the machine resumed its regular beeping.

"Heh…Sorry about that, Ren…" Yashiro sheepishly smiled as he slowly edged out of the room, before Ren decided to turn the "gentlemanly smile" on him. "Oh, look at the time! Ren, I've got to uhm…deliver some documents to LME!" Yashiro sprinted out the door.

"Can I please go to sleep now?"

"No, you can't until the doctor gets here. He said that he wanted to talk to you," said Sho.

"Talk to me? He can do that when I next wake up," said Kyoko, turning over. "I want to get some sleep."

"Kyoko, don't be like that. The doctor should be arriving soon. I'm sure it won't take too long…"

"I'm sorry, Ren. I really want to sleep."

"Kyoko, you aren't allowed to sleep until the doctor gets here, because I say so." Sho butted in, only to receive a glare from Kyoko.

"Who are _you_ to talk? You think you have a say in what I do? Dream on. I'll never forgive you, you think I'll do anything you say?" Kyoko's aura was getting darker and eviler as she spoke, making the atmosphere in the room change and the temperature in the room to drop. Her grudge demons started flying around and Sho was soon cowering in fear. In truth, her grudge demons were pinching and poking him, forcing him to take cover after being assaulted by an invisible foe. "You think, after what you did to me, I'll _ever_ forgive you?" her voice was strangely starting to resound within the room. "You think that I will forgive and forget about all that you did to me?" Kyoko's voice was now dangerously soft. Her grudge demons held Sho at the collar as she spoke. "Get out." The demons released Sho and started to push him towards the door.

That was the last straw. Being pushed by something that you could not even see was plain freaky and Sho did not need anymore convincing. He fled the room like the hounds of hell were hot on his heels, leaving Kyoko in a fit of giggles.

"I've always wanted to do that!" she crowed happily, clapping her hands like a circus seal would clap its flippers. "'Kay, Ren, I'm going to sleep now!"

"But Kyoko…" protested Ren. "I just got here, so couldn't you just stay awake a little longer so I can talk to you?"

Kyoko shook her head. "Sorry, Ren, but I need to sleep. I would love to stay awake and chat with you, but I am really, seriously, exhausted. Please…" She turned the puppy dog pout on Ren.

"Mogami-san, could I talk to you for a moment?" The doctor had arrived at last.

"Sorry, doctor-san. I'm just about to go to sleep. You can't deprive a patient of sleep, you know." She gave him a look of pure innocence, while her aura became cold and creepy. The doctor took one last glance and briskly walked out the room, wanting to be out of there as quickly as possible. As soon as the doctor left the room, the dark aura immediately vanished and the temperature returned to normal.

Kyoko was about to turn over and try and sleep again, when a childish voice from the doorway interrupted her attempt.

"No! Onee-san has slept for eight days already! Onee-san is _not_ allowed to sleep for even a second until she tells me how all this happened!" Maria marched into the room, scrambled onto Kyoko's bed and plunked herself down on Kyoko's lap. "Tell me."

"Uhh…Maria-chan, can't you let onee-san just sleep _a little_ bit?" Kyoko, with the help of her sole angel, was struggling hard to prevent the grudge demons from hitting Maria, and her dark aura from appearing again.

"No! If you fall asleep, I'll use voodoo dolls to wake you up!" shouted Maria rather severely.

Once the words "voodoo dolls" were heard, it was like a spell had been cast and the superstitious Kyoko ceased to complain about her weariness and became wide awake, as she unwillingly told Maria what had happened.

It ended almost an hour later than it was supposed to. The stupid co-star kept forgetting his lines and he moved so slowly. Kanae pressed on, trying to walk as quickly as possible in her heels without spraining something. She reached the hospital in two minutes, puffing and panting and made her way to Kyoko's room. Kyoko was peacefully sleeping, Maria beside her and Ren watching with an amused expression on his face.

"Hello, Kotonami-san! Kyoko just went to sleep!" he said brightly. Kyoko had been exhausted after being grilled by Maria and Maria just needed her daily afternoon nap.

"Kyoko _just_ went to sleep?! You mean she woke up?!! She woke up and nobody_ ever _thought to give the best friend a call?! I can't believe it! I'm the best friend, yet no one _ever_ remembers me!" If Kanae could yell, she would be doing it. But not wanting to wake her friend up, she had to make do with a very loud hiss. She cocked her head, studying Ren's appearance. "What's with the hair?"

Ren raised his hand and pulled a bunch of his hair in front of his face to study it. It was blond. In his rush to return to Japan, he had forgotten to dye it black again. "New style."

Shrugging her shoulders in reply, she found a chair and dragged it up near the bed.

"I'm going to sit here on this chair and watch her until she wakes up. And when she does…" she growled. She heard Ren chuckle. It was almost inaudible. But she still heard it. "Now I know why Kyoko hates that guy," she grumbled under her breath.

Looking at Kyoko and Maria sleeping so deeply, with blissful smiles on their faces made Kanae think about how tired she was. The long, hard day at work…Kanae felt so tired. She heard an inner voice urging her to join her friend in dreamland. _I guess a little nap wouldn't hurt…_ Kanae yawned and drifted off to sleep.

_Whee! I know I'm in Dreamland, but this Fairyland seems so real. And so fun too! Everyone is here! Moko, Maria, Sawara-san, Takarada-san and Corn, too! Oh, not to mention the fact that the fairies in Fairyland were torturing Shotaro to their hearts content. I think one of them even handed me a rotten tomato to throw at him!~ and after that, everyone threw rotten fruits and eggs at him! That was so fun._

_I went over to Corn to play with him. He looked exactly like he had ten years ago. He was still the same friendly boy, only he did not seem as depressed as when I last saw him. Something must have happened to make him feel happy. I was glad that he was happy. It was a little depressing being around him sometimes, when he was being moody, even though he tried to hide it most of the time. _

_I looked around for Ren. I wanted him to meet Corn, my first best friend. I craned my neck, looking around for him, but I could not see him anywhere. Turning around to face Corn, I realized that Corn was no longer there and in his place, stood a blond Ren, looking exactly how Ren looked when he came into my hospital room. _

_Then, I saw it. I let out a gasp at the revelation. I finally saw the connection. Ren equaled to Corn all grown up and Corn equaled to Ren as a child. That was pretty…unexpected. After that, I decided to wake up._

Kyoko stirred. Ren looked up from his seat. Hospital sheets were awfully noisy.

"Hello Corn." Kyoko grinned. Her smile hadn't changed in all those years he had missed her so much…

So. She finally knew. Ren smiled back.

"Hello Kyoko."

_Perhaps...Accidents aren't so bad after all,_ reflected Ren, looking at Kyoko's beaming, happy face.

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

OKAY! I'm sorry if you've read the first eight chapters before and then discovered that I haven't changed anything. But I had to change a typo and I had no idea how to do so otherwise. Yes, I am this extremely blur person, who completely missed out the replace chapter section. My sincerest, deepest apologies. Anyway, this epilogue is to complete the story and also something of an apology (I feel that I owe you guys) to those who have read it already and pointed out that I was violating the rules. Sorry! Promise that I won't do it again. But please enjoy the epilogue anyway~

* * *

Epilogue

Kyoko had been discharged from the hospital for a week now. Every thing was normal in her life. Except for one thing – She was now an item with The Tsuruga Ren. Not that it was a bad change, but the good change brought along bad changed too. The paparazzi simply refused to let either of them have a single moment of peace. Initially, Kyoko had been scared out of her wits and had been so terrified that she barely stepped out of the Darumaya. When she _did _decide that going out was worth it, it was only for work, work , work…and to meet Ren at some extremely secluded but high-end restaurant for a date. She had a new life. One haunted by the dreaded swarm of reporters, the bright blinking camera flashes and keeping a low profile. Who would have thought that a simple relationship with Ren could change her life so drastically? It was like she had a new life, but some shadows of her past tended to cling on to her forever. Certain irritating and narcissistic shadows, that was.

Kyoko ducked out of the house in the wee hours of morning. She breathed a sigh of relief as the swarm was not present surrounding the darumaya. The reporters that hounded her were nothing but lazy bums who needed juicy stories to provide entertainment for people. She checked her watch. _4.30 a.m._ After discovering that the hound-like reporters had an almost admirable perseverance, she had been driven to leave the house so early that no one would be able to catch her on her way to work. A black van drove up, with _Star _emblazoned upon it. _Shit._ So there were actually reporters dedicated enough to rouse themselves at an unreasonable hour like this.

She scrambled onto her bike and started to ride like fury. Correction: She was _about_ to ride like fury. Blocking her path was another van. This time, it was white. It looked kind of…familiar. She froze in her tracks as realization dawned upon her and the occupant of the van coolly stepped out.

"Good morning, _my_ dear Kyoko." What a pain in the neck he was. He could just mind his own business and get over the fact that _she_ wanted _Ren_ and did _not_ want _him._ But no, he just _had_ to be irritating and stick to her like a bur. She rolled her eyes.

"Get out of my way, Sho. I'm leaving for work. And I don't think you want to stop me." Her eyes narrowed. Any trace of warmth that had ever inhabited her gaze was gone. The already dark surroundings darkened even more and light seemed to be unable to penetrate the thick, cloying fog of Kyoko's dark aura.

The black van froze to a stop. Whoever the driver was, he had common sense which Sho seemed to not have been blessed with, for the van immediately reversed at the fastest speed possible and was gone within seconds. Sho took a step forward.

"You shouldn't live in denial, _my_ dearest Kyoko. You _know_ deep down in your heart that you belong with me. Right here, in my arms. If you looked deep down, you would see that you love_ me_ and whatever feelings you have for Tsuruga Ren are nothing but that of kouhai admiration and teenage infatuation."

Kyoko snorted. "Denial indeed. Let me tell you something, Sho." Her eyes were now slits, but a fire blazed brightly within them. "If I were to look deep down inside my heart, I would find love for Ren and _more_ love for Ren. However, I don't think you want me to look deeper. Because all I would find would be hate for _you_, Sho. A deep-seated hatred so deeply carved into my heart that only my love for Ren can bury it. So you see, Sho. As I have said in reply to your bouquets, chocolates, black-magic kits and whatever else you gave me: I. Don't. Love. You. But you can, of course be assured that I don't _hate_ you now." She bestowed upon Sho a sickeningly sweet smile. Sho, in his haze of denial and delusion, thought that he might stand a chance.

Just as his hopes were rising, she crushed it. "I detest you." The aura thickened and Sho was almost unable to see Kyoko. Those three words felt as if she had ripped out his heart and stepped on it with the heel of a stiletto, shredded it like a piece of tissue paper and incinerated it. _I detest you_. The words resounded within the aura-covered place, echoing against every wall and building.

"You…detest…_me?_" His voice broke and his eyes welled up with tears. This rejection from the one that he loved so much was simply…painful agony. "But…but…I love you!"

His cool composure was totally gone.

"You still don't get it, do you, blubbering idiot." A new voice joined the conversation, as a figure got out of a sports car.

"Ren!" exclaimed Kyoko, all warmth returning to her and the dark aura turning into a light and elated atmosphere. Ren swept her up in a loving embrace.

"A couple can only be made when _two_ people have the same loving feelings toward each other. If it's one-sided, then nothing but rejection is going to happen." His gaze was filled with pity as he saw a sobbing Sho on the sidewalk. "I hope you find your love someday. As long as she isn't _mine._ Now I have to go to work, as does _my_ dear Kyoko."

He opened the door for Kyoko to climb in and was rewarded with an appreciative smile. He got into the driver's seat and the car sped off, leaving Sho there on the pavement to be discovered by residents or passer-bys.

And they lived happily ever after…

"KYOKO! COME BACK TO ME! FROM SHO!" Screamed a banner on the streets.

Or at least a troublesome happily ever.


End file.
